One of the rides I dislike the most that I operate has
to be Pendragon's Plunge.

All I do all day is pick up a boat, wipe the boat, load the
boat and launch the boat again and again - and it's one of the last rides to close at the end of the day!

You can also get very wet even though you
havenít been anywhere near the water!

Pendragon's Plunge is one of the worst rides
for queue jumping!!

There are clear signs in the park explaining
that if people queue jump they can be dismissed from the park without a refund - yet people still go ahead and take
chances!

A particular personal favourite ride of mine
that I operate is The Kingdom in the Clouds.

Although I am constantly told by the guests how boring this
ride is, itís nice and easy to operate and I donít get much hassle.

Its only bad point is that it always gets very busy
just after the Jousting Show has finished.

Although I haven't operated the Junior Skydivers this
year (2006) I can tell you that it's one ride that can be difficult to operate in more ways than one.

Parents
tend to argue with you about the height limits
imposed (these
changed this year from 1.2 to 1.4m).

Because of the way the carriages swing out each carriage
has to be loaded one at a time. Once the ride gets going you are 'tied' to the ride via
a 'Dead Man's Plunger'.

If a child stands up whilst this ride is moving (which they
have done with me) I have to stop the ride suddenly.

Many of my fellow operators dislike the Caterpillar
Capers (or the Apple). The main feelings about this ride are that
it is very boring and lonely to operate (it's isolated from the other rides)
.

I will admit it's not the most fun ride to operate
but when you are having one of those days when you are tired and just want an easier time of things this
ride can be heaven!

I asked if I could operate it on the last
working day of this year.

All there is to do is to count 24 people on,
lock the lap bars, start the chain and push the train off.

There's no hassle with height limits or ride limitations
- everyone can go on this ride!

Will and Pendragon's Plunge.

These are the pumps for Pendragon's Plunge
that pump water up to the top of the chutes.

This is the control panel for The
Kingdom in the Clouds. Itís very simple: I
turn the black dial clockwise to make the ride go clockwise and turn the dial anti clockwise to make the ride go anticlockwise. The emergency stop button is on top (it
does what it says on the tin) and the red button is the emergency stop reset.